Customs on equipment into the US

[laroygreen]

Firstly, this is a way off base question.

I want to sell my DSLR gear that isn't being used (Sony A850, two Sony flashes, memory cards, etc.) and I am wondering if there is a customs charge to ship items to the U.S. from the Caribbean (I checked the US Customs site, but that didn't help at all!), i.e. if I wanted to sell my gear on eBay (can you sell digital gear on APUG, or is that sacrilege?), would I be able to just ship the item to the purchaser, or would the purchaser need to pay customs in order to receive the item? If the purchaser has to pay customs, how easy of a process is it (it is a massive pain here!) and how much (percentage) is duty on digital camera gear?

Just assessing the feasibility so any help would be appreciated!

 

[Sirius Glass]

1) US Customs will be no help.
2) You sell it on eBay and collect the cost plus the shipping and handling. The buyer will deal with Customs if necessary.

 

[nickrapak]

The US has some of the lowest import tariffs in the world, and most of the Caribbean is a tariff-free zone. You can get an estimated tariff rate here: http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

 

[AgX]

You have to fill out a customs declaration (you get it from the USPS), which is basically a statement of the gross-price you billed the buyer and which is added to the parcel.

From own bad experience with customs authority I advise to add inside the parcel a document that proofs that the buyer had paid you the price you state.

 

[Marc B.]

...can you sell digital gear on APUG, or is that sacrilege?

Probably better list digital gear over on DPUG.
You'll get flamed by several wanna-be moderators if you post digital gear here.

Marc

 

[eddie]

You can post it in the classified's Anything Goes section.

 

[laroygreen]

Thanks for the responses guys, all helpful! I'll follow the suggestion and I won't worry about it too much and let the buyer deal with any tariffs.

 

[mark]

I have bought all of my soviet camera gear from out of the country. If I paid customs fees I don't know it, and it was probably included in the shipping. A buyer should expect high shipping charges when buying from somewhere out of the country. Inform your buyer that customs sometimes holds stuff for a very long time.

 

[AgX]

Custom fees/VAT have to be paid by the importing byer. They only could be included more or less unnoticed in your billing if you paid via COD and the customs office cashed it that way.

Otherwise you live in a lucky country.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I asked a former customs inspector who works in my office - ultimately it is up to the discretion of the postal inspector whether to charge duty or not. There is a general schedule of tariffs, but it's impossible to explain in a forum like this - the amount charged depends on the country of origin and the type of item being imported. As a very vague general rule, used items being imported for personal use of relatively modest value will not be subject to duty, but it all depends on the item and the value. A used Rolex is still probably going to be charged import duty.

 

[AgX]

As I thought, a lucky country.